Page 79 - Innovation Delaware 2021

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Marlette Funding: Helping Consumers
Bounce Back from Pandemic Setbacks
Marlette Funding wants to help the FREDs of the world recover from the financial hit of COVID-19. FRED stands for Financially Responsible, Event Disrupted. These are people who have little to no
savings, but pay their bills. They often suffer a major credit setback when they experience an unplanned life event — like being out of work during the time of COVID. Marlette,
a Wilmington-based fintech company, expanded its suite
of lending products for 2021 to include a new credit card program specifically to help these people.
“We viewed 2020 as a year to make significant investments to expand our products and features to help a broader group of consumers get access to money during more difficult times,” says JEFFREY MEILER, CEO of Marlette Funding.
Marlette, developer and operator of the Best Egg consumer-lending platform, looks at a person’s entire financial history in deciding who should be eligible for the new card based on past payment performance.
“We know that since they have a history of financial responsibility and it was an event outside of their control — job loss, divorce, medical bill — that caused their credit to decline, they are actually a quite attractive group to help,”
says SABRINA DEVITO, chief strategy officer for Best Egg. Marlette uses artificial intelligence and machine learning
to collect and analyze more than 1.4 trillion pieces of data to develop products that consumers need. The data not only
includes traditional financial and credit metrics, but
also contextual data from engagement and research with consumers. For example, when COVID hit, Marlette gathered a research and engagement community of more than 2,000 customers to better understand what they were going through and what Marlette, through Best Egg, could do to help them.
“As a result, we designed and were able to effectively target a number of programs, which gave them flexible options on how they could make payments if they were experiencing a financial disruption,” says DeVito.
Best Egg’s new card offers customers a fair interest rate and no fees if they pay on time, as well as more control over their financial life. For example, they can set alerts at certain
JEFFREY MEILER
spending limits or exclude spending in certain categories altogether. On-time payments and responsible card use can also result in rewards. The company is working out the reward plans, but examples include lowering the person’s annual percentage rate, or increasing their credit line.
The credit card program is just the beginning of new and innovative products that Best Egg and Marlette have planned for 2021 to help responsible consumers who experience major financial setbacks regain stability. Ultimately, these products should enable lending to people whom traditional banks often overlook.
“We will both expand our suite of existing lending products — personal loan and card — and add new products to help consumers reduce debt, decrease expenses and boost their income,” says DeVito. —Kim Hoey
INNOVATION BY THE NUMBERS
199
Number of fintech patents assigned to Delaware-based individuals and companies between 2009 and 2018
1
Delaware’s rank among all U.S. states in the number of fintech patents per capita
20 TO 250
Growth in the number of Marlette Funding employees since 2014
Sources: Delaware Prosperity Partnership, Marlette Funding
INNOVATION DELAWARE 77